Oh, Death
by FruitCat
Summary: Every five years, Death comes to say hello.
1. First Encounters

_**Oh, Death, oh Death, oh Death,_

_Won't you spare me over another year_

_But what is this, that I can't see_

_with ice cold hands taking hold of me_

_When God is gone and the Devil takes hold,_

_who will have mercy on your soul**_

Kagome was just five years old when she first encountered Death.

"Grandpa! Grandma!" The small pig-tailed girl cried out, grinning from ear to ear. She ran to her beloved grandparents, hugging at her grandmother's leg.

"Well, hello there! Who is this adorable young lady that looks so much like our little Kagome?" Her grandmother asked in faux confusion. Though she tried to be serious, a small smile was planted across her wrinkled face.

"Grandma! It's me!" Kagome giggled. Her smile broke as her grandmother started coughing, and her mother moved her away.

"Mom, you know it's not good for your health to be out in this weather. Let's go inside." Her mother said, holding onto Kagome with one hand and leading her own mother inside.

Kagome's grandmother waved her daughter away. "Don't start fussing over me."

Kagome was left in the house as the two most important women in her life started bickering. Hearing a noise, she turned, and found her favorite animal.

"Buyo!" The plump kitten startled, and took off running. Giggling madly, Kagome took after it.

"Where are you off to in such a hurry, young lady?" Her grandfather asked. Kagome smiled and pointed in the direction of the cat.

"I'm trying to catch Buyo." At that statement, the kitten bolted outside, before her grandfather could close the door. Kagome pouted, knowing she wouldn't be allowed outside alone.

Her grandfather gave her a considering look, and said, "Stay by the house, and you can go outside for a bit." He smiled and patted his granddaughter on the head, moving to sit at the kitchen table.

Kagome grinned, and shot off outside.

She checked on the grounds, in the trees, and around the house, but couldn't find that darned cat!

Kagome bit her lower lip and whined. Why couldn't she find him?

A noise halted her. There were small mews, coming from the hut next to the house. Reaching for the door, Kagome stopped. Was she even allowed in there?

Well, she decided, her grandpa _did _say to stay by the house, and this hut _was_ by the house. So it was ok, right?

She slid the door open with a small grunt, and peered down into the darkness. The light outside illuminated the hut, and she saw…a well?

Weird, she thought, but was shaken out of her thoughts by frantic meowing.

"Buyo?" She began down the stairs, looking for the troublesome kitten.

"Come on out, Buyo! Buy-" She stopped calling with a shriek as her foot slipped in the edge of the stair. Her body fell backwards, and her feet went out from under her. However, she never impacted the stairs.

"You should be more careful, little one."

Opening eyes she hadn't realized she'd closed, she found herself looking into the face of her savior. Or rather, the shadows of her savior. His face was shrouded in darkness, and seemed to be cloaked in the shadows of the small hut. He was cold to the touch, but his voice was surprisingly warm.

"W-Who-" Her stuttered question was cut off by shouts.

"Kagome? Kagome!" It was her mother.

The stranger brought her back to the top of the stairs and set her down, crouching to her level. Even though the open door allowed sunlight into the dark hut, his face was still obscured by darkness.

"Go to her child, lest she worry herself to death."

And with that, he was gone. Blinking in confusion, Kagome startled when her mother grabbed her arm.

"Kagome! There you are! We have to go, your grandma-she-oh let's just go!" She spoke in between sobs and gasping breaths. Startled and confused, Kagome followed her mother to the car, and they went to the hospital.

Her grandmother died that night.

It would be years later that Kagome realized that Death had held her in its arms.

**I don't own inuyasha, or the song 'Oh Death' by Jen Titus.**


	2. Inevitable

_Oh, Death, oh Death, oh Death, _

_No wealth, no ruin, no silver, no gold_

_Nothing satisfies me but your soul_

Kagome was ten when she met Death again.

"Mamma?" Kagome called out, trying to enter the room where her mother's pained moans came from.

"Stay out of there, Kagome. Just…wait out here with Souta." Her grandfather ushered her away from the room. Kagome sat on the couch, and pout on her face and a queasy feeling in her stomach.

Her mother was pregnant again. Kagome was excited. Sure, she loved Souta, but he was a _boy_, and this baby was going to be a _girl_. She was ecstatic…until tonight.

Something was wrong with her Mamma, the doctor said, and needed bed rest. What Kagome couldn't understand was why the doctor wasn't helping her mother with the pain. That's what doctors did, right? They fixed you and took away the pain.

Buyo meowed loudly, and scratched at the door. Kagome frowned, but got up to open the door for the cat.

Buyo padded out the door, tail stuck in the air. Kagome sighed as the fresh night air brought new life to the other wise stuffy house.

I just wish it wasn't so cold, she thought to herself, before frowning in confusion. It was night, sure, but it was summer. It shouldn't have been this cold…

"We meet again, child."

The voice was smooth like liquid silver, and chased away the cold of the night. Kagome looked up in alarm, but saw nothing. She blinked. Why had that voice sounded so familiar.

"You've grown." The voice sounded surprised for a moment, then continued. "Of course you have. Such is the way with mortals."

There! In the darkness, there was a glinting light. With a start, Kagome realized they were eyes.

"W-who are you?" She asked slowly. The presence of this stranger unsettled her, but he (and she was sure it was a he) seemed to calm her as well.

"I am the inevitable, child. Nothing more, nothing less."

Kagome allowed the voice to filter through her mind, and suddenly realized why he was so familiar.

"You were there, in the well house, the day my grandma-"

"Yes. Yes I was."

Silence followed as she processed his words, before she allowed herself to speak again.

"You…You took her away, didn't you?" She asked, even though she knew it was true.

"I did." He answered simply, gliding closer to the house. The shadows seemed to travel with him, protecting him and hiding him from her eyes.

"Why?" Tears came to her eyes as she thought of her grandmother, lost for five years.

"Because there comes a time when all must return from whence they came. Such is the nature of Life and Death." He came closer, and reached out to her. Kagome flinched, but allowed him to cup her face. His skin, she could see now, was a brilliant alabaster, not sickly but a glowing pale tone. And it was cold. So very, very cold.

He wiped her tears away with a clawed thumb.

"All creatures, be they mortal or otherwise, must cease to exist at some point in the timeline. Humans, animals, demons, and gods. All fall to the inevitability of Death. Do not cry, child, for that which you cannot change."

His words did not comfort, but they stopped her tears. His hand was frozen against her heated cheek, and she reached her own dainty hand up to palm his own.

Though the darkness was thick around him, she could see amusement in his golden eyes, and the flash of fangs.

"Go back inside, child. Your brother is worried."

He disappeared again, merging into the surrounding shadows like mist. Kagome closed the door, and raised one hand to her cheek. It was still cold.

"Kagome?" Her little brother, five year old Souta, stood behind her.

"Yea?" She didn't turn to look at him as she spoke. She kept looking outside.

"Who were ya talkin' to?"

She started to answer, but was cut off by a scream.

Her mother lost the baby.

And a little part of Kagome became bitter inside.


	3. Time

_Oh, Death,_

_Well I am Death, none can excel,_

_I'll open the door to heaven or hell._

Kagome was fifteen when she stood up to Death.

"Hey, Dad! Watch this!" Souta then showed off his climbing skills on a tree to his new father.

After growing up without a father, then having Souta's dad bail out when he found out her mother was pregnant, Kagome didn't have a lot of trust in the male population. But this one was different. Even after her mother's miscarriage, he stood by her side. He even adopted them!

He's a keeper, Kagome thought, watching her brother and new father romp around on the grass. He had taken the family out to the park, and they all rested in a lightly forested area.

Kagome sprawled out on the grass, smiling.

"You're not much of a child any more."

Her eyes sprang open, and she sat up, twisting around to find the voice.

She found the owner in the shade of the trees. But this time, the shadows weren't hiding him.

She could see a black cloak that seemed to meld into the darkness, but his facial features were clear for her eyes to feast on. An elfish face, pointed ears, and strange stripes on his cheeks and eyes. Long, moonlight hair. For a moment, all she could do was stare at him. Then she became angry.

"Why are you here?"

He tilted his head, appraising her.

"No longer afraid, I see."

His monotonous response only made her angrier.

"Answer me! Every time you come around, someone dies! Why are you here now?" Her body vibrated with anger, her fists clenched and flesh heating up.

He looked beyond her, and Kagome felt her blood go cold. She turned, seeing her father wave to Souta as he walked away to sit on a bench, absently rubbing his head. Kagome gasped. He had been complaining of headaches for a few weeks now.

"No…no!" She cried, facing the man again. "You can't take him!" But he was gone, and in her desperation, she turned back to her father.

He had collapsed.

Crying out, she ran to his side, and held him to her.

"Dad, no! No! You can't take him! He's ours!" She sobbed.

Time seemed to stop, and when she looked up, she found it had. The people around her were frozen. The air seemed colder as a misplaced breeze fluttered around.

"You believe you can stop me, child?"

He knelt by the body of her father. She curled closer around him, hoping to shield him from this strange man's touch.

He narrowed his eyes at her, and with a wave of his hand, she was blown away. She fell on the grass a few yards away, and opened her eyes to see him peering down at her.

"I am Death, child." He cupped her face in his cold, cold hands. "I could remove this entire city, and no amount of your tears could stop me."

Her lip trembled, and new tears leaked from her eyes. "Please…" She whispered hoarsely.

He stared at her for a while, then turned to look at the man still frozen a few yards away.

He narrowed his eyes, seeming annoyed, then pinned her with his stare again. His fingers clenched around her face, and she felt the danger of his claws.

"You cannot stop the cycle of Life and Death, little mortal. One day, _everyone_ must end." He released her and stood. "Enjoy your time with him, young one. It is drawing to a close."

He faded away, and time started again, and her father was getting back up. Kagome let out a ragged breath.

Her father would live another day.

And she silently thanked Death for giving her time.


	4. Acceptance

_Oh, Death, Oh Death,_

_My name is death and the end is here_

Kagome was twenty when she accepted Death.

"Humans are such fragile creatures."

The voice cut into the darkness clouding Kagome's mind. She lifted heavy eyelids, and blinked in confusion. Where was she?

The ceiling was white, the sheets were white, the walls were white. The air smelled of disinfectant. A hospital? Then where did that voice come from?

"Your flesh splits far too easily, and your blood flows freely. It's a wonder how your species hasn't died out yet." Death sat at her bed side, looking at her with a mixture of sadness and disgust.

"Are you…here for me?" She asked.

Death hummed, reaching out a hand and petting her hair and face. His touch was still cold, but it didn't burn. It was soothing.

"It is so very rare to find a mortal that can withstand Death's touch. You were to have died that day at the well house, so many years ago. I caught you in my arms, expecting to have to ferry your spirit away. But you remained in your flesh, and looked at me without fear." His words were hypnotic, as was the rhythmic motion of his hand in her hair. "Time and time again you have felt my touch, yet here you live. You, a child, stood against every law and decree of Life and Death, something that not even I, Death itself, have been able to do."

She slowly, carefully, lifted her hand. Her warm palm rested against the smooth coolness of his striped cheek. He leaned, ever so slightly, into that warmth.

"It has been long. So very, very long, since I have felt the touch of another against my flesh."

Her heart yearned for him, for the raw pain and loneliness in his voice.

"May I keep you?"

His question startled her. Keep her?

"Keep me? In what way?" She asked, staring into his golden stare.

"As a friend, a companion, a lover. Whatever capacity you would be willing to stay. Or I can let you go, to rejoin those I have taken from you." He looked away from her then, removing his hand.

She thought of his offer. He had been there her whole life, leaving pain and wonder is his wake. And yet, she understood. For every beginning, there must be an ending. For every open, there is a close. For every life, there must be death. It was a never ending cycle that kept the world moving and the universe in place. She understood his job, and what he had to do.

She remembered her grandmother, taken in old age.

She remembered her sister, taken from the womb.

And she remembered her father, taken three years after his due date.

She was afraid. What would happen to her, should she choose to follow Death? She had lost everyone in her short life: grandparents, parents, siblings, and friends. Would she have to suffer an eternity watching those she cared about die?

Then she looked at Death again, and remembered his words.

Everything died. Mortal or otherwise. Death was inevitable, and eventually, all would have to return from whence they came. Though her time would be greatly stretched, it would not last forever.

Mind made up, she grasped his cold hand.

And Kagome smiled.

**Yep. That's the ending. Hope you enjoyed this little...thing.**


End file.
